real friends
by XiuRong
Summary: "If we're really friends, you won't come back." But Sans' memory throughout alternate timelines never holds, no matter how bad it gets... until a post-Genocidal Frisk returns to redeem herself. Telling him the truth sparks a series of events entirely different from her previous resets. (As fair warning, for the sake of simplicity and plot purposes, Frisk is female.)
1. real friends

"Let's just get to the point."

The worn sensation of static charged the atmosphere, in contrast to the appearance of a peaceful, golden-lit hall. There existed that same sense of misplacement. Irrationally so, without solid recollection, he knew. Even though there was no such shadow of a memory that arose as they danced through this sick repeating game. It was impossible to tell by intuition alone. And timelines, no matter how erratic the pattern, he could only trace. They never overlapped, or gave any sort of hint to an alternate timeline's version of him as to what might have been. This kind of information, however, could barely even be called a theory. He could only deduce from personal observation.

Still, he knew. The kid knew.

She stepped past his attacks with practiced ease. Even before he pulled out his opening move, the Gaster Blasters he'd never shown to anyone who still existed, she shifted preemptively, in anticipation.

There was no way she hadn't done this before. If not, she was one hell of an agile brat. But then again, he couldn't prove it for himself, could he?

"Hey. Kid."

His words barely left him as a knife cut the air in which he stood half a moment ago.

"Kid."

Another half-hearted slash. She was doing it on purpose. She didn't swing with an intent to hit him. She knew her blade would only meet open air. No matter how much he deduced, or how thoroughly he turned over each detail in his mind, it was impossible to figure out the reason behind everything. If her attack would never land, why would she keep at it? He ignored this thought, knowing he probably wouldn't ever figure it out. At least not in this timeline.

After one last defensive teleport, finally, she paused, if only for a moment of rest. Well, it wasn't really his thing to keep at anything for so long. Her eyes focused on him, conveying the frustration of what could have been ten, fifteen, twenty LOADs. Not that he cared. After all, if she took all that effort to kill every single monster in the Underground... Really. What was one more?

Besides, dodging, purely out of physical exertion, must be exhausting. He could imagine. Though it wasn't like he could sympathize.

"So. Uh..." He brought up his left hand to the rub the back of his head. "You really like swinging that thing around, don't you?"

No answer.

"Just lay down your weapon. And you know..." He closed his right eye. "Well, my job will be a lot easier."

No answer.

"You know, it feels like you've got something else going for you. Like somewhere inside you, there's a different person. A great one actually."

The crease between the kid's eyes let up as she began to catch her breath again.

"Like maybe... in a different time, we were... I dunno." He closed both eyes. "Good with each other."

The kid's tense grip on the knife eased.

"Maybe even... friends?"

No answer.

Sans slid his left hand back into his pocket and opened both eyes again.

"Come on." He addressed her directly. "Kid. I know there's something in you better than this."

No answer.

Then the most unexpected thing happened. Like tightly woven cloth unraveling before his eyes, the change in the kid's expression suddenly morphed into that of an entirely different person. Those wide, intense eyes eased into a softer squint, and her mouth closed. Only to bite back what took him much longer than a moment to register.

The kid... was crying.

Not loudly nor anything like the sobs one would expect from a child. Simply silent, plaintive tears.

The hand that held her weapon trembled, and her legs were unstable, as if she struggled to hold herself in balance. When she opened her mouth, he expected something akin to an apology. And it was like she'd lost her ability to speak.

"Sans..."

Her voice was quiet, entirely different from the one he'd been hearing until then.

"I didn't... mean... to."

The words left off on an incomplete emotion, but her eyes met his with a genuineness that almost reached his own soul.

 _But it didn't._

The harsh ring as the knife hit the floor cut into his memories with vicious clarity. Just as she did to his brother. To the nameless lady behind those huge, unopening doors. To not only every monster that stood in her way, but to those she sought out. What apology could mean so much as to justify that? And as if the kid read his mind, she dropped her gaze, like she herself acknowledged that she couldn't expect to deserve anything from him.

Though he was shocked into stillness, he knew no expression he could make would give it away.

He closed his right eye.

"You're sparing me? Finally."

She looked up.

"Hey kid. Buddy. Pal." He assured. "I know it must've been hard to do what you just did. To go back on everything you've done. I want you to know. I don't take it for granted."

He pulled both hands out of his pockets and shrugged his shoulders up in an open gesture.

"C'mere, pal."

The kid's body was no longer shaking, no longer off-balance. Those painfully remorseful eyes relaxed into an expression of genuine happiness, and she was laughing in relief. The kid ran forward into his arms. And for a moment, she breathed in the forgiveness of an old friend's embrace.

In the next moment, her small body was cleaved straight through, held several feet into the air. If there had been room for anything besides bone in her body, her nerves would have been screaming beyond the first half-second of agony. A choked, incomprehensible cry left her as the magic appeared to retreat back into the ground, dropping her down with it.

Sans felt the temperature of the tile floor seeping through his slippers as he stepped forward. Snowdin's cold was incomparable to what he felt now.

"Huh."

What a mess. But it was satisfying to see the body of a murderer mutilated so thoroughly.

Well, that was what he would have felt if he were sadistic scum. He almost felt bad for the kid. She really meant it, didn't she? Then again, if he chose to stand by, think, and do nothing, like always, this kind of situation wouldn't have gone so far in first place, would it?

He stopped just short of the pooling blood and stood above the kid's body, knowing those eyes would last register the shadow his body cast over it.

With cold indifference, he gazed down at her.

"If we're really friends... you won't come back."


	2. once in a timeline

RESET.

Even though the smell of buttercups long permeated her clothing, Frisk didn't sit up.

 _Haha! That was the best one yet!_ The sound of a child's laugh reverberated within her thoughts. _I knew that comedian was something else, but I had no idea he was such a hit!_

Frisk shrunk away, even though there was no way to block it out. Chara's pleasure was Frisk's torment.

 _Hey, aren't you getting up anytime soon? I can't wait to see what'll happen now._

She ignored those prompting words.

 _Aw, why're you being so difficult, huh? After all, I did do you a favor, didn't I?_ The fallen child's snicker sent a chill up her back. _I let you RESET. I just couldn't refuse. You were just so devastated, and you'd never asked anything of me. So quiet, especially after we killed that other dumb skeleton._

* * *

"Human, are you offering a hug of acceptance?!" Papyrus' scarf flapped valiantly in the wind. "Wowie! My lessons are already working!"

With every bit of her strength, Frisk fought. But her desperation wasn't enough to overcome the fallen child's DETERMINATION. Chara's will overwrote every aspect of Frisk's, and Papyrus, the sweet, oblivious monster he was, stood no chance against her. That was why there was no way he could have seen that knife coming.

"But still. I believe in you." Papyrus spoke with the greatest amount of optimism on his face. As if he didn't know he was going to die."You can do a little bit better."

Chara merely smirked at his words. As she advanced, she made sure to step on the dust that was once the Greatest Royal Guard-to-be.

* * *

Frisk stopped fighting since then.

 _Come on. Let's go say hi to Sans. I_ really _want to see him again._

As if Chara were sitting beside her, she turned her head aside.

 _If you don't get up..._

 _...then I'll take it from here. For the rest of this timeline._

"..."

At that, Frisk slowly sat up, then stood upright. Eyes set on the path that would take her to Toriel.

 _There we go. Good girl._

As soon as she met Toriel, the first word out of her mouth was, "Mom." And just like she knew the monster would, Toriel's expression softened. Frisk knew everything about the child she'd lost, her desire to teach, her reproach towards any chance of any human child walking into danger. Throughout her stay, she'd been waiting for Chara to take over, dreading the moment it would happen. But it never did. It seemed Chara was satisfied with watching Frisk's guilt.

When it came time for Toriel to pull the human child into that familiar battle screen, Frisk did nothing. Every attack aimed for her landed, but as injured as she was, she knew that Toriel would never finish it. So Frisk stood without a word until Toriel gave in. And with a warm hug from the monster, she was left to go her own way. And still, Chara did nothing.

Snow crunched under her feet in the same satisfying way she remembered. Even when she had the feeling she was being followed, it didn't bother her at all.

Crack.

Still, she trudged on. In ill-suited clothes for the winter, she stopped at the bridge where the bars were too wide to stop anyone.

"Human."

A sense of familiarity welled up in her chest.

"Don't you know how to greet a new pal?"

Sans. She turned around immediately, and as his eyes met hers, no fleeting recognition crossed them. His hand was still held out invitingly, so she grasped it, a smile surfacing on her face at the sound of the whoopee cushion.

"Hehe. That one's always funny." Sans seemed quite pleased with the reaction his prank drew. And she laughed with him.

"You turned around real quick though. Have you heard this joke before?"

Frisk blinked, realizing that she had in fact, jumped ahead of herself where she shouldn't have. She wasn't a good liar. So the only thing she did was shake her head in denial. Maybe a little too hard.

"Hm." Sans, with his ever-unchanging expression stared at her a moment longer before dismissing it. "Anyways. You're a human, right? That's hilarious."

He stuck his back into his pocket.

"I'm Sans. Sans the skeleton." His left eye closed in confidence. "I'm actually supposed to be on watch for humans right now. But you know, I don't really care about capturing anybody."

Frisk knew exactly what he was going to ask.

"Now, my brother, Papyrus. He's a human-hunting fanatic."

She was already nodding before he finished making his request. Of course. Even if she'd already done so once before, she would redo those puzzles a billion times over if that would make him happy.

"Uh. Not one for words, are you, kid?"

When he got no spoken reply, he tilted his head towards a conveniently-shaped lamp off to the side.

"He's coming right about now. Better go hide."

The way he spoke to her now. She hadn't heard that voice in a long time. Neither had she seen him look at her the way he looked at her now. Or close his left eye in friendly jest.

Then suddenly, hearing the crunching footsteps of his overenthusiastic brother, she snapped out of her thoughts and ran to stand behind the lamp. Sans' demeanor was completely unchanged in casual greeting.

"'Sup, bro?"

* * *

From electrified mazes to junior jumble to canceled death traps, Frisk did them all, slowly forgetting about the second presence in her head. She laughed with Papyrus and suffered through puns and admired Sans' unconditional affection for his brother. By the time Sans offered her advice on battling Papyrus, she nodded without a doubt that the naive skeleton would relent to her persistent flirting and choose to become her friend.

But.

As soon as the battle screen appeared and her soul materialized in front of her, a familiar weight settled over her mind. And she was so unprepared, so weak from kindness, that Chara's will overrode hers in an instant.

 _Alas, poor Papyrus._ Chara mocked. _What a dummy._

She didn't release Frisk for a single moment, forcing her to stare at her own handiwork.

 _I wonder where the cooler brother is~_

At that moment, her body moved to playfully kick up the ground at her feet, mixing dust and snow together.

"Sans~!" For the first time in this timeline, Frisk's voice could be heard loud and clear. "Where're you at? Papyrus and I sure missed you!"

No. No no no no no. Frisk reached out to pull her will back into herself. But at that very moment, Chara stopped, the same wide smile on her face.

 _Since when were you the one in control?_

To prove her point, Chara didn't give it back. She played along as the quiet, pacifistic Frisk, and not a single point of EXP was to be found. From place to place she progressed, dutifully following Frisk's every action from a timeline long past. Only one thing was missing. Much to Chara's disappointment, Sans never showed up. Not by the telescope. Not at his sentry post.

"What a freaking bore." She scoffed as they doubled-back through Snowdin again.

So when they encountered Shyren, the ecstatic fallen child played along. Falsely, cheerily, she sang with the timid monster, showing her nothing but mercy. Frisk and Chara, the both of them knew who the hooded figure watching from the shadows was. The red scarf around his neck no longer flapped valiantly. There was no wind here. One SPARE after, before the child left on her way, she turned to the shadows and blew a kiss and wink. A grin spread on her face as the air charged around her. But she knew. That he would do _nothing_.

"I guess that skeleton really wasn't all that great after all." Chara said out loud, as if she were talking to herself.

The suddenly empty air did nothing to prove his absence.

Despite the nonchalance in her words, the grin in her expression was provoking. "I don't know what I expected from someone who gave up a long time ago."

Absolute fun. If only she knew before just how interesting he was. Whenever Frisk would finally muster up the DETERMINATION to ask to let her RESET, she wouldn't even mind. How many different ways could she behave? How many different choices? If she did this, what would he say? If she told him that, what would he do? Just thinking about all the possibilities was exciting. She had someone she knew she would never get bored playing with.

The time another RESET would happen once again came at judgment.

When Frisk's body walked through the empty hall to Asgore, the speech Chara heard was without any ounce of the hate she expected. Then.

"You know, kid. Something weird strikes me about you." Sans' ever-unchanging expression fixed on hers. "Sometimes, it feels like you know what's gonna happen. Like you've seen it all before."

An inkling of an uncharacteristic smile pulled at Frisk's mouth.

"So. Uh." Sans asked in his same lethargic manner. "If you've got some kind of special power, isn't it your responsibility to do the right thing?"

Chara could feel Frisk's silence. _Yes. No. Maybe so._ She played with the possible answers in her head. ...Then she pulled out the most mockingly innocent smile she could imitate.

"No."

Naturally, Sans betrayed nothing of his real thoughts. It was only the misplaced extra second that told her all she wanted to hear. He closed his eyes.

"Well. That's your opinion. I won't judge you for it."

Two light-less voids fixed onto her.

 **"You dirty brother killer."**

Suddenly, the heavy pressure she didn't realize was there lifted from the air around them. Although she was sure she didn't blink, her vision seemed to blank out for a fraction of a second, and in the next moment, Sans was gone.

Chara released Frisk just then, and her legs gave out, sitting her onto the cold tile floor.

In the silence, elsewhere, birds were singing. Flowers were blooming.

Alone in the beautiful sun-lit hallway that led to the barrier she could not break, she did. Knowing that she'd let down the monster who, once, in a timeline, had grown to be her friend.


	3. in control

Something felt wrong back then. When Papyrus ran ahead to intercept the human on the path leading out of Snowdin, his self-assurance was that the kid would be completely fine with Papyrus. He wouldn't hurt a fly. His brother would never do anything to harm her. That was true.

So when Papyrus didn't return, he mustered up the energy to see them for himself. Via shortcut of course. But no one came. Rather he saw no one. Where else in the Underground would Papyrus wander off to?

One of the perks of being a skeleton monster was the fact that neither the cold nor the heat bothered him. In fact, what was temperature? He trudged through the narrow field of snow he knew they should be.

"Hey, bro! Where'd you run off to? I'm chilled to the bone here!"

Silence. Which was strange because Papyrus was never at a loss for words. The snowfall was obscuring his vision. Blizzards have great timing.

So he called out again.

"Come out! Hey! Pap! This isn't funny anymore!"

Nothing.

"Come on, you're starting to freak me out, bro! You win! So just get over here already!"

He wasn't used to speaking this loudly. It bothered him. So he kept walking forward, his hands in his pockets but his eyes searching for any telling indication.

Then he saw.

Snow. Dust. Snow and dust kicked together. And the only sign anyone had been there was a red scarf.

What did he do then? Nothing.

He watched her sing to Shyren, as kindly as she always acted. Under his hood, hidden by the lack of light in the Waterfalls, no one should have noticed him. But the kid did. That kind face changed so quickly.

Mocking. Him.

He wanted to kill her.

But that would mean going back on his promise. And probably never understanding why she did what she did.

"I guess that skeleton really wasn't all that great after all~"

 _Going back on the promise. Understanding why._ Those words repeated like a mantra in his head. He almost lost it. Even though the bone of his jaw felt as if it were being ground away, still, he did nothing.

The child waited a moment. He realized she waiting for him. With no answer, she simply stated. "I don't know what I expected from someone who gave up a long time ago."

That one really threw him for a loop. He didn't stay to listen to anymore she had to offer.

He set aside his sentry post and his job. If he wanted to keep his promise, he would never see face again. Realistically speaking though, that wasn't going to happen. At first, Undyne tried to reach him, no doubt to set him straight for skipping out of work. But then suddenly, she stopped calling altogether, the day Papyrus didn't come over for his cooking lessons.

Instead, with his time, Sans brought back his old habits of deduction, speculating to himself about why she so suddenly changed her tune? She had been nothing short of kind. And now, the worst part was her mercy. She SPARED everyone. Every monster she encountered, regardless of how much she was hit, was left without a single scratch. Every monster she SPARED. Everyone except him.

There was something that struck him as strange about her. She walked like she knew the Underground. Looked as if she'd heard it all before. And made her journey straight to Asgore without a hitch. Long ago, he'd discussed the possibility of the existence of several alternate timelines with the Royal Scientist. Alphys wouldn't be able to comprehend. If these theoretical timelines existed, then there had to be a cause. Until now, he hadn't had an idea as to what that cause might possibly be.

So at judgment, he stood before the kid. And delivered his spiel. Without bringing in all of the questions he needed answers to.

"So. Uh."

Just one.

"If you've got some kind of special power... isn't it your responsibility to do the right thing?"

He eyeballed the kid with his left eye closed. What he searched for was more than a one word answer. Not a yes or no. He knew there was much to it than that. One more chance.

 _Tell me, kid. Give me a reason._

He stood in silence. She stood in silence. With that same innocuous expression.

Then her mouth spread wide into a horrifyingly remorseless smile.

"No."

After all his speculation, he thought nothing she she could possibly say would shake him, but that one word cut into him like a knife to his own soul.

He closed his eyes.

"Well. That's your opinion. I won't judge you for it."

Hate and burning disappointment rose to fill his empty chest, then his head, burning away his desire for closure and his willingness to accept a justification. When he opened his eyes again, _**it was as if he were seeing everything through a black-and-white screen–**_

 ** _..._**

Blue light sparked to life in his left eye, and Sans jerked awake, into his senses, now sitting nearly upright at his sentry station. Huh. He put his head down again. That was one hell of a bad dream. Not that he could remember it. Oh well.

Sans looked up and around. No one. In that case, he might as well should stay awake in the case Papyrus or Undyne ran over to check on him. Besides the unpleasant waking up, at least he got his nap, _and_ he visited the lady behind the huge doors.

 _If a human ever comes through this door, could you please... please promise me something? Watch over them, and protect them, will you not?_

The strangest request he'd ever heard. He hated making promises. And he didn't even know her name, but... someone who sincerely liked bad jokes had an integrity he couldn't say no to.

* * *

Frisk's hand hovered over MERCY.

 _Stubborn, aren't you?_

After being SPARED, Froggit hopped away without a scratch.

 _Feeling good about yourself now?_

Even though Chara's will relentlessly tried to throw her own aside, Frisk held strong. She kept walking forward, already past the last of the puzzles in the Ruins. She knew she would reach Toriel soon, praying no other monster would stumble into an encounter with her.

Another Froggit.

The black-and-white battle screen appeared before her once again, and she felt Chara forcing her way to the surface. There was no way she would let that happen. ACT. COMPLIMENT. Froggit didn't understand what she said, but it was flattered anyway.

 _You're starting to annoy me, Frisk._ Chara snarled. _What's with this whole MERCY act again?_

Frisk ignored the second child in her head and kept walking. She'd had enough. This time, she was DETERMINED not to give in. Her cellphone rang as she walked into the next room. Toriel.

* * *

He felt something strange. It wasn't intuition. Maybe it was just that he was still disturbed by the bad dream he had earlier. Whatever it was. Remembering the promise he made earlier, he felt like going back to visit the lady. Something didn't feel right.

* * *

Still, Toriel blocked the way.

"What are you doing? What are you proving this way?"

 _Yeah, Frisk. What_ are _you proving? That you can do what you want to do when you want? Congratulations!_ Chara mocked. Then she brought up the image of the toy knife in Frisk's possession. _Just do it already._ _Kill her and save all that extra time for later._

"Fight me or leave!"

 _Kill her._

"Stop it."

 _Kill her._

"Stop looking at me like that."

 _Kill her. Kill her. Kill her. Kill her._

Frisk's thoughts filled with only those words, blocking out every other thought of her own. But she was DETERMINED. Chara had attacked her this way before. When she cut down Papyrus, she had absolutely no way to defending against the fallen child's strength. But now...

Frisk stood completely still, her eyes on Toriel, and Toriel had no idea of the deafening cacophony within the child's head. Her eyes gazed down on her with maternally.

"I know you want to go home, but... please go upstairs now. I promise I will take good care of you. We can have a good life here."

The second presence in her head suddenly went silent. Chara stopped her assault. Then. She laughed. The both of them knew every word Toriel would say. And that she would eventually give in.

"...It is sad that I cannot save the life of a single child."

Finally able to focus on the monster with the fallen child's silence, Frisk felt the urge to apologize to her.

"If you truly want to leave the ruins, I will not stop you."

Toriel's eyes dropped, and in that moment, Chara's will crashed into hers, breaking free.

 _Live with this, Frisk!_

Frisk's body started into motion, the toy knife from earlier concealed in her hand. Toriel's eyes widened in surprise.

But instead, Frisk's arms embraced Toriel, quietly dropping the weapon. Her heart raced because now she knew that if even for a moment she let her guard down, Chara would shove her aside and take control. That was too close of call.

Chara was beyond frustration. Throwing a tantrum just like any other young child. _You think that just 'cause only_ you _can RESET that you're in control?! You're never gonna get rid of me! EVER!_ She was screaming in her head, absolutely furious, but that only made Frisk hold on tighter. Toriel knew nothing. And it was best that she should never know how close her body had been to becoming dust. So Frisk bore with the agony until Toriel walked away.

 _I'm gonna get you, you know. Sometime, you're gonna get tired of fighting me, and I'm just gonna do whatever_ I _want._

She held her body weight against the door as the heavy brunt of the fallen child's anger nearly knocked her over, physically tangible. But she was DETERMINED.

Frisk steeled herself and pushed open the door "I'm the one in control."

* * *

His slippers crunched onto fresh snow in the deep forest. Shortcuts. Super convenient. His eyes focused on the huge doors just ahead. They were closed. Of course they were. He didn't know what he expected.

Crunch.

Now his eyes focused on the opposite direction.

Well. Would you look at that. A human. So the lady really did know what she was talking about. And was that... a child? Huh.

She was making slow progress, trudging through the snow with uncertain steps, but still she followed the clear path straight out of the deep woods. He decided it wouldn't be a good idea to shock her too much. Instead of the usual shortcut, he walked a good distance behind her as he planned how best to introduce himself.

Crack.

Whoops. Didn't mean to step on that. But she neither turned nor slowed, so he guessed she just didn't notice. So about that self-introduction...

The human stopped in her tracks. Just before the bridge.

"Sans."

The sound of his own name definitely took him by surprise.

Then she turned to face him. It really was a human. He'd never seen one this small before. She was even shorter than him. But what most stood out was the expression on her face. Her eyes were squinted, unfocused, and her entire body was trembling, but not from the cold. Though he'd definitely never met her before, any decent monster would be concerned about her well-being.

"Hey. You alright there, kid?"

At the sound of his voice, a smile pulled at the side of her mouth. But her quiet, clipped words stated something entirely different.

"Sans... Stop me."

It was like her entire body shut down.

"Whoa." The kid dropped just like that.

He caught her on her way to the frozen ground. Knocked out cold. It was obvious she wasn't gonna wake up soon and staying out in the snow probably wasn't any good for her either. What was she wearing? Just a sweater and pants? He never took off his jacket for anything, but this was good probable cause.

He stared at the small human in his arms in incredulity.

Well. Guess it was time to make good on his promise.


	4. the legendary fartmaster

Waking up was a process of drifting in and out of consciousness. The only thing she remembered clearly was that her head kept throbbing constantly. But by the time she had finally sat herself up in complete awareness, she had already taken in her surroundings. This was the skeleton brothers' home. She recognized the couch she had been sleeping on, the living room, the kitchen, the stairs, and the one sock Sans never picked up. Nostalgic. This blanket too was familiar. It seemed Sans had finally unrolled it from the unusable ball it was before. She hoped he'd thrown it in the washer at the very least.

"'Sup, kid?"

She jerked her head back around quickly to see Sans on the couch too, just across from her.

"So you're finally up." He'd popped out of nowhere, like he always did. "It's been about two hours… maybe?"

He sat, hands in his pockets like usual and shoulders relaxed in that blue jacket he never took off. No doubt her sudden appearance was a big surprise to him, but if it were, he didn't show it. If anything, she knew he would have questions. But even she didn't know exactly what was going on. For better or worse, she couldn't even feel the other presence in her head.

Sans watched her intently for a moment – no doubt noticing her zoning out – before speaking up again.

"So. Uh. You're a human, right? That's hilarious."

Those words pulled her back into the present. Frisk knew what he would say, down to the last word.

He continued. "I'm–"

"Sans."

She spoke quietly, but it was enough to stop his words completely.

"You're Sans." She spoke again. "Sans the skeleton."

The brief silence was enough to tell her he wouldn't just let it slide this time. She already called him by name before she passed out. When he reintroduced himself, he was giving her a fresh start.

That was how Sans was. Willingly oblivious. Completely passive. He gave up a long time ago.

She wouldn't let him do that anymore.

When he didn't pick back up on his introduction, she did so for him, stating every one of his lines as if it were a script before her eyes.

"You were supposed to be on watch for humans, but you don't really care about capturing anybody..." The old memory brought a sense of warm comfort reminiscent of the first time she felt his now familiar sense of humor. "Now, your brother Papyrus. He's a human-hunting fanatic."

If someone who was already still could freeze, Sans did exactly that in that moment. He didn't need to hear more.

Frisk jolted at the sharp snicker inside her head

 _What are you going to do, Sans?_

Chara.

The fallen child knew Frisk could tell she was there, but rather than attempt to seize control again, she seemed content to sit back and watch the show. There was no need to jump right back in and pull the reins. She was thoroughly intrigued by the turn of events. Her voice entered Frisk's thoughts once again.

 _Oh, this is getting good. Repeating his words back to him directly? You're a genius, Frisk._

The incorruptible, never ever to-be-shaken Sans was at a loss for words.

 _Wow, look at him. You're completely throwing him off his game. Ha, I wonder what he's going to say._

Frisk threw aside Chara's malicious intrusion to focus on Sans' words. To say that was a rare sight was an understatement.

"Who are you, kid?"

This could go either way at this point. Now, Frisk had made it clear she knew something substantially big that he didn't. His curiosity was peaked, and by that monotone voice, she knew that he was in the process of deciding whether or not that fact was a good or bad thing.

She took in a slow breath, before looking into the sockets of the monster with whom she had grown to be friends – timelines ago.

"I'm..."

With the straightest face she could manage, she spoke.

"I'm the legendary fartmaster."

Silence.

Neither she nor he broke eye contact. Her nerves were on edge. This was the best she could come up with. What could he possibly be thinking?

"What?" He asked in that same monotone voice. "Can you say that a little louder?"

Frisk bit back her anxiety. She didn't want to show it in front of the observant skeleton. Not now. She opened her mouth once again, willing her voice not to crack.

"I'm the legendary fartmaster."

He closed his eyes. "...Wow. Can't believe you would say that. Not only is it infantile... but it's also my secret-secret triple-secret codeword."

Even Chara was anticipating.

Sans' right eye opened to look at her. "I wonder who could have told you that."

No other than him. Frisk knew that he knew that. She stared hopefully, still awaiting his judgment.

"So tell me, kid. Who are you?"

She hesitated. Where could she even begin?

"I mean your name this time, buddy."

Oh. There was no hiding her relief as felt the change in the way he addressed her. Open. Inviting. Friendly. Humorous.

"Don't get all rattled now, kid."

Sans' grin was genuine this time. "By the way you look at me, it seems like we really must have been something good. Besides, I can't say I've met a time traveler before. Now, that's exciting."

Her relief turned into a laugh as she jumped forward to hug the skeleton. It would be such an immature, childish thing if she started bawling now.

But she really wanted to.

That happiness was infectious, even though Sans still had absolutely idea who she was. He returned the embrace, along with a comforting pat on the head.

"Alright, kid. Better start filling me in on this. Don't leave me in the dark here. Tell me what's up."

Frisk nodded. Then she was hit hard with a wave of nearly physical emotion, a mixture of guilt and pain as compensation for feeling the cold skeleton's warm invitation. No doubt Chara's sadistic doing, vivid memories flooded her head.

* * *

 _"C'mere, pal."_

 _Her body was no longer shaking, no longer off-balance. Her painfully remorseful eyes relaxed into an expression of genuine happiness, and she was laughing in relief. She ran forward into his arms. And for a moment, she breathed in the forgiveness of an old friend's embrace._

 _In the next moment, her small body was cleaved straight through, held several feet into the air. If there had been room for anything besides bone in her body, her nerves would have been screaming beyond the first half-second of agony. A choked, incomprehensible cry left her as the magic appeared to retreat back into the ground, dropping her down with it._

 _She could barely feel the temperature of the tile floor seeping through mutilated body as she lay there, no longer able to move. Snowdin's cold was incomparable to what she felt now._

 _"Huh."_

 _Sans stood before her, with that same unchanging expression, his head tilted downwards to examine his work. No trace of pity. And he had no reason to feel any. He knew no other version of her than this murderous monstrosity._

* * *

 _Just like he knows no other you than the stranger he sees now._ Chara teased.

She didn't want to hear this now.

 _I'm just telling you the straight truth, Frisk._

Chara was speaking truth. She knew.

 _Now, imagine if he knew everything. It's just so convenient everyone forgets after a simple reset, isn't it?_

A laugh only Frisk could hear resounded within her body.

 _He would_ never _forgive you if he knew._

Frisk shrunk, physically reacting to Chara's attacks. But she wouldn't just cry like a little kid and give up control of her body for this timeline. Not for any timeline. Not just for the sake of the monsters' lives in the underground but also for herself. It felt selfish… but she wouldn't be able to live looking through Chara's eyes.

"Kid?"

He must have noticed her silence and tenseness. Ever so observant.

"Sans. I'm so sorry." She tightened her embrace and repeated it, emphasizing her apology. "I'm so sorry."

Instead of leaving him in the dark, she resolved to ignore her aversion to verbosity. Time to start from the beginning.

"My name is Frisk. And you're Sans. You have a brother named Papyrus who loves puzzles and spaghetti." She let go of the embrace to look him eye-to-eye and properly tell him the entire story.

"Napstablook, Undyne, Alphys, Mettaton, Toriel, Asgore…" She listed off the first few names that came to mind before deciding it was enough show-and-tell.

"We're not just friends, Sans..." Frisk spoke, letting a smile pull at the corners of her mouth. "We're family."

Sans was remained thoughtfully quiet for a moment.

"…Toriel?"

Oh, wait. He didn't know who she was yet.

"You'll meet her later." She assured.

He shrugged without hesitation. "Alright, kid. I trust you."

Then he closed his left eye in a playful wink. "You and I must've been pretty tight if I told you my secret-secret triple-secret code word. Still got a lot of questions for you though, kid."

A quiet hum pained her head. Chara wasn't saying anything, but she never let Frisk forget her for too long. Frisk only nodded in response to Sans' words, bearing the fallen child's pressure for control, his words barely ringing through the ever growing fog in her mind.

"It's like I'm a time traveler." She cracked a joke. "You said so yourself… that if you ever met one…"

 _Hey, hey, Frisk! I want to talk to him now!_

Frisk continued. "… That surely they would know your secret code."

"I guess, for one... how'd we meet? The first time I mean." He asked. "Knowing the Underground... it must've pretty puzzling the first time you got here. Pap can get pretty invested into making 'em."

At the mention of Papyrus, Frisk's pained smile faltered.

This didn't go unnoticed by Sans.

Now, the pressure in her head was growing unbearable. Chara was slowly choking her out, constricting her control over her own body. At the same time, pushing doubts onto the forefront of her thoughts. Weakening her will once again.

Frisk held onto her head, shutting her eyes, grinding her jaw, fighting it.

"Kid?"

Sans' voice was a mile away.

She swallowed, knowing it would be best to tell him everything. But it was scary. She knew what he was capable of, and she dreaded it. She dreaded seeing his old friendly demeanor change, after knowing her as who she really was, for what she had done.

"Sans." She managed to force out, curling her body up even more. "I... have a lot to say."

"Throw it at me, kid."

 _Okay then._

The last thing Frisk heard before her body went numb was the fallen child's excited laugh.

The quiet atmosphere was the patience Sans offered, an expectancy of an explanation.

The kid's body relaxed, and slowly, she looked up, a wide grin now plastered on her face.

"You know, Sans."

Her smiling eyes lifted to meet his.

"My favorite part out of all the timelines was killing that annoying, uncool embodiment of stupidity, Papyrus."

Frisk sat in a nightmare, caged in her own mind, only able to listen to the fallen child's will.

 _He sure changes his tune real quick, doesn't he, Frisk~?_

Two giant skulls stared straight at the center of her small body. But her eyes never left Sans' empty sockets.

"Go ahead and kill me. I dare you." She mocked. "We'll just start this timeline over again, and you won't remember a single fucking thing."


End file.
